When you think about a classroom, what do you imagine? You might think of a whiteboard, student desks, a projecting screen, or a podium. Classrooms now look a little different—even for younger students. Students might have their own laptops or tablets, teachers may be projecting information on a mobile device, or using a smartboard to help engage students.
The COVID-19 pandemic also changed how many students traditionally learn, and a classroom can look even more different. A classroom for these students may be on the train, in the backseat of a car, or in their own homes.
Classrooms today integrate a lot newer technology than expected, and it’s becoming the norm for students to learn with technology in this way. This type of learning is known as blended learning.
What is Blended Learning?
Blended learning (also known as hybrid learning) is an approach to education that combines both technological, online materials and traditional, in-person education practices. Blended learning is important because it helps students gain the hands-on technological experience they’ll need in day-to-day life.
Blended learning helps establish a bridge between in-person learning and remote learning. Remote learning can be challenging for some students depending on their home lives, their financial situation, or the resources they have. Technology disparity is very real, and remote-centric learning may not be the right fit for these students. Blended learning helps by providing a bit of both to keep students engaged.
The best way students can take advantage of blended learning is by having access to all the tools and resources the school can provide—regardless of whether students are in-person or remote. The challenge here is to find a solution that allows for access from anywhere. This is where remote access software comes into play.
Access to School Computing Resources Anytime, Anywhere
One of the major benefits remote learning provides for students is the flexibility to study from anywhere and to access school resources regardless of location. Remote access software is the best tool to facilitate this flexibility. By providing access to lab tools, such as computers with specific software access dedicated to student use, students are able to gain access to resources anytime they wish.
The other benefit of providing remote access is that students can access lab computers from the device they feel most comfortable using. Some students have tablets, others have full desktops. Regardless of what kind of device your students use, they’ll be able to access the same resources they'd have available to them as if they were in-person at the lab.
Maintaining Quality of Education in Remote Settings
Remote access solutions like Splashtop help to ensure that students from a remote environment receive the same quality of education and access to tools as those in-person. Digital resources such as libraries, or specialized software are often reasons why a student would visit a computer lab in person.
Providing those opportunities remotely helps to bridge the gap for the students who study remotely—they can save time and avoid a trip to campus when needed. This is especially helpful for those part-time students who are looking to complete their degree while balancing home life, careers, and more.
Remote access allows for continuity and consistency in a student’s learning environment. Whether a student is on campus in a lab, in a lecture hall, or learning from a remote location is irrelevant because the content and experience provided are the same. This is important to ensure that every student’s educational journey is consistent, regardless of their current learning environment.
How Remote Access Benefits Students
For students in specialized programs like architecture or design, specialized software to complete coursework is often required. Access to this software can be prohibitively expensive for students; providing remote access to lab computers that have this specific software can solve this problem. Students don’t have to worry about purchasing expensive licenses, they can just use the software available on lab computers.
This also minimizes the need for students to purchase expensive, high-powered computers. Students can remotely access those lab computers from their own devices without worrying about the expenses of a high-powered machine.
Remote access also gives students the flexibility they need to cater to their individual learning styles and schedules. As previously mentioned, students with tighter schedules, such as an individual working full-time can fit their schooling in during times that work best for them. If a student needs access to learning material ahead of time, or prefers to review at their own pace, they can revisit the materials as needed and create a more self-guided experience.
Creating the opportunity for more flexible learning experiences also provides accessibility for those students with disabilities who are unable to visit campuses regularly. For example, if a student has a learning disability that makes it difficult for them to attend classes in person, remote access helps to provide students with the tools they need to create the environment that works best for them.
Advantages for Educational Institutions
While remote access provides major benefits for students, it’s also a huge help for educational institutions leveraging blended learning. Remote access helps to improve accessibility to school computing resources. Schools invest a lot of time and money in purchasing the resources students need, and it goes to waste if those resources aren’t used. Remote access helps increase resource utilization, ensuring that students have what they need to succeed, whether in-person or remote.
Remote access software can help reduce overhead costs for educational institutions. Remote digital laboratories reduce the need for physical space, which can lower maintenance costs for on-campus facilities.
Instead of purchasing individual licenses for each student, institutions can buy a limited number of licenses that are shared among students on lab computers and accessible from anywhere via remote access. This reduces the total number of licenses needed. This setup can help create efficient resource management processes—the school makes educational resources more accessible while minimizing operational costs.
Security and Compliance in Remote Learning
It’s imperative that you protect your students from any data breaches, and they’re a vulnerable demographic. Educational institutions also need to ensure general data, such as research and other library resources, and protected as well. It’s important to find remote access software that helps keep all of this information safe and also meets common educational standards.
Remote access tools like Splashtop help protect students with various integrated security features. Key features like encrypted connections, multi-factor authentication, and privacy safeguards are essential to protecting student information.
Educational institutions are required to maintain compliance with many different educational protection standards, such as FERPA for educational data privacy, or GDPR for European data protection. Splashtop remote access adheres to both legal and ethical guidelines for student data protection and privacy.
Get Started with Splashtop for Blended Learning
Providing remote access for blended learning can help bridge the gap between remote learning and in-person, ensuring students have the same quality learning experience whether on-campus or from home. Students can access major technological resources without traveling to campus, broadening the opportunities and time they have to study and creating more accessible opportunities.
If you’re interested in adopting remote access to encourage more blended learning practices, consider Splashtop. We invite you to join us to provide your students with secure remote access solutions for blended learning opportunities. Contact us to learn more about how Splashtop’s education solutions can help your students.
